Formal Methods for the Informal World from 4 Mar 2013 through 8 Mar 2013

In the field of computer science, the term ‘Formal Methods’ is
used to indicate the application of mathematical structures, languages and
techniques for specification and verification of computer systems: formal
systems. Stimulated by the increasing availability of computational power, the
use of formal models is spreading quickly also for ‘informal systems’, e.g.
those involving human interaction. The aim of this workshop is to explore and
reflect with computer scientists, mathematicians, philosophers and social
scientists, in which ways formal methods can be useful outside of the formal
world, and to contribute to the methodology of applying formal methods in the
social sciences.

Outcome:

As usual in interdisciplinary settings, discussions arose around
central concepts, such as “formal” and “model”. These discussions brought
general insight into common misunderstandings, for example about the purpose of
building models: this varies greatly over and within disciplines, but is seldom
made explicit.

There was active debate on validation of formal models. Although
we did not formally survey the participants, it was evident from the informal
interactions over coffee and in the corridors, that many participants left the
workshop with new perspectives – sometimes these were in the form of awareness
of subfields they had not previously been exposed to, and sometime these took
the form of novel angles on familiar concepts.

Because the discussions threads remained very vivid up to the
end of the workshop, we decided to continue the discussion online. We installed
a blog for this purpose (http://in-formal.tudelft.nl) to which all
workshop participants were invited to contribute. We expect that these
continued exchanges will result in a small number of related articles and
responses, out of which a special issue of a journal may grow.

Organizational:

The backgrounds of the participants were nicely mixed over the
spectrum from formal to informal. There was constant interaction within the
one-week community that we formed, perhaps surprisingly given the number of
plenary talks that were on the more theoretical or formal side of the spectrum.
Our program choice to set the stage on Monday with a keynote from psychology,
worked well in this respect, and we should give credit to all speakers for
striking the right balance for the interdisciplinary audience. Also, the fact that many participants actively came forward with
their personal experiences and questions both in the discussion sessions and
during the talks, created coherence throughout the program and the group.

As a breath of fresh air, we profited from the sudden (and
short-lived) Spring weather for a “cyclic reasoning”
discussion, including sea views, for which the interested participants rented
bikes from the Lorentz Center. Also we invited a harpist/singer and trombone
player for the wine and cheese party, to provide an unexpected intermezzo in
the long first day of talking (with the motto: “Music, after silence, comes
closest to expressing the inexpressible” – Aldous Huxley). They played two short
sets with an eclectic music choice (Bach to Beck), much to the appreciation of
the participants.

The facilities of the Lorentz contributed markedly to the
success of the workshop. Providing access to offices for individual ‘quiet
time’ complemented by the shared common room space is excellent. The lunch
arrangements worked very well – encouraging further mixing of the group – and
the food quality was good.